Author Topic: Essential equipment (Read 9490 times)

ewwreckers · « **on:** October 30, 2012, 04:38:43 PM »

We're taking off for our first big camping trip this christmas and although we've got our list of what we call essentials, just wanting to know what everyone else would suggest/need in case we have forgotten/overlooked something. At this stage we're borrowing a mates CT (fair trade for Vic painting mates truck

)
Trip will be for about 3 weeks, and going up as far as Rocky, and depending on wet season will decide if we go further up to Mackay, or head back down the NSW coast to Eden. Only spots I have booked is a caravan park in Hervey Bay, and Fraser Island, the rest we'll play by ear.
So far on the list
We've got a little 50Lt fridge which runs well off the inverter, so thats going to save getting and Engle fridge (and give us an extra weeks holiday

) The fridge will have the meat, esky for the fruit/veg, drinks etc
Recovery gear
Evil-bay solar panel setup plus a small gennie
Hot water shower
Stuff to cook on (BBQ, or just a double gas burner thing)
There's alot of other stuff as well, but just thinking of the big things.
Vic has declared the blender as essential....he wants me to make fresh margarita's while on the beach, hope the bloody limes are cheap!
Oh, and any suggestions from the better halves of what they consider (especially in the way of cooking stuff) would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Vanessa

Stozz · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2012, 04:52:02 PM »

Just a few ideas:

A good first aid kit - check through that everything is up to date. Old bandaids dont stick. Someone on this site sells really good kits.

In the food department, we cook some meals in advance, put then in a plastic freezer bag, then in a chinese food take-away style container and freeze them at home. We then leave the container behind when we go camping but your meal is neatly frozen into a rectangle - easy, compact stacking in your portable fridge/freezer. These meals are good for the first night in or when you really cant be bothered cooking. Also means you are not carting home a pile of empty plastic containers that take up room.

Cup-a-soups are really easy, quick lunches as an alternative to sandwiches/rolls

Herbs and spices - we use one of the those plastic seven-day pill dispensers that you can buy at most chemists and some supermarkets. Means you can just take a little bit of everything with no glass containers.

Find plastic containers that are all the same shape for flour, sugar, cereal etc. Then they will stack better, store better, not break and are lighter. Write on the lids what is in them so you dont have to pull everything out of the drawer/box to find the one you want.

Alfoil and re-sealable plastic bags

If you dont like grotty tea-towells

(and dont plan on doing any clothes washing), buy a couple of chamois (like the ones you dry your car with). They do great at drying up dishes then you can give them a good rinse and let them dry out.

A head torch for everyone (they are

) and spare batteries (they always seem to go flat at the worst possible time)

I am sure others will add to this list. If you have an iPhone/iPad, there are some good "list" apps where you can create custom check-lists to make sure you have everything and you can add to it as you think of things. Cant recall the name of it, but someone will reply.

WilSurf · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2012, 04:53:18 PM »

Running a fridge from an inverter?
That will use a lot of battery power.

When we went away for 3 weeks my wife cooked most of the meals and cryvacced (?) it.
Every morning we grabbed a meal out the freezer and put it in a small esky. The frozen meat, while thawing was keeping the milk, cheese and other stuff cool.
There was no cooking during the trip, only about 4-5 times. She was enjoying it.

ewwreckers · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:01:51 PM »

WilSurf, we thought the same thing about the fridge, but had it plugged in yesterday from about 12noon, checked it about 9pm last night, and was still chugging along on the same battery, and all looked fine. We'll be giving it a few more test runs though!
Love the no cooking idea, the family is on alert that mum is on holidays too, so they better learn to clean it or pack it up, or it gets left behind lol

Stozz, got the first aid kit, will be checking and adding stuff to it over the next 8 weeks as we think of things. Love the herbs and spices idea! I've got those Tupperware containers that flatten down to about the same size as a dinner plate, to they'll be thrown in in case we need them (makes it easy to break treats up for the kids).

Jeepers Creepers · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:12:13 PM »

Beer, cold beer...

WilSurf · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:12:34 PM »

Don't forget the camera as yo know:

Stozz · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:14:30 PM »

Quote from: WilSurf on October 30, 2012, 05:12:34 PM

Don't forget the camera as yo know:

And the camera charger....

ewwreckers · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:18:30 PM »

The camera gets packed before the husband and the kids lol
Hmmm better make sure I have extra limes for my icy cold Corona's

Paul (SA) · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:30:30 PM »

Baby wipes (or wet ones) are essential for us...even without the kids.
First aid kit is very important.
Non essential = clothes. I always pack wwaaaayyy more than I actually used and I think I will never learn.

Paul

hainess · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:37:38 PM »

13foot 6 low mount medium action with a 600 series Alvey.
And a 10 foot 6 or 11 foot light action with a decent eggbeater.

Now you're done.

You did say Fraser?

Rod

.

GLC · « **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:53:58 PM »

Thanks stozz:) (at least with ours you dont need to add;) lol)

Aldi has/had a great solar kit.

where your going is just as important as the when.

Make sure you have instant ice packs by the way, they are great, not just for your own injuries but make great stubby coolers. (remember shake the ice pack before you add to the can)

What have you got in the way of ropes, wire (couple of gauges), tapes (couple of widths, the muffler tape is real handy, then again so is liquid metal). incredible what you can get them to do in an emergency and it saves the local farmer getting pee'd off at you;)

hmmm see what you guys mean, there are a lot of items that are simply taken for granted.

nbd73 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:58:08 PM »

Add plastic cable ties to that list too. And your grocery shopping plastic bags: make the best camping rubbish bags (double them up if in doubt) and useful for temporary storing of wet towels, togs etc. + paper towel & pino clean wipes. You've got everything else covered, just get out there, enjoy and don't be in too much of a rush on the roads...

xcvator · « **Reply #12 on:** October 30, 2012, 06:24:32 PM »

duct tape, duct tape,duct tape, duct tape,duct tape, duct tape,duct tape, duct tape,

BigJules · « **Reply #13 on:** October 30, 2012, 06:53:01 PM »

Take plenty of petrol for that generator, and a 5m or 10m extension for your panels. You'll camp in as much shade as you can, which is sensible but does affect the performance of the solar panels if you can't get them out into plenty of sunlight.

You can run the fridge that way, but it is terribly inefficient. This is no worries if that's what you've got and you're prepared to keep the panels and genset handy.

Nomad · « **Reply #14 on:** October 30, 2012, 08:46:53 PM »

Try and book more coastal places you plan to go to. As they will be super busy this year. And you don't want to end up staying in sh!tholes. If you want advice on the Sunny Coast just yell.
Cheers Nomad.

Mallory Black · « **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2012, 11:39:48 AM »

have not just a first aid kit but a really good first aid kit and focus on:
Burns
Stings
eye injuries
foot injuries
There's a thread in here about all that

have solid tow points front and rear of the vehicle and some way of towing the trailer out of the way too (for Fraser) rule of thumb is if you are prepared, you won't need it LOL

watch the weight, don't exceed the GVM, by the sound of it you are heading that way!

WilSurf · « **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2012, 12:17:27 PM »

Mozzie spray, fly nets.

DannyG · « **Reply #17 on:** October 31, 2012, 12:32:40 PM »

Quote from: Paul (SA) on October 30, 2012, 05:30:30 PM

Non essential = clothes. I always pack wwaaaayyy more than I actually used and I think I will never learn.

Paul

I agree, nothing better than walking around camp with no pants on

People rarely setup near me for some reason?

Burnsy · « **Reply #18 on:** October 31, 2012, 01:41:21 PM »

We carry a first aid kit as mentioned but also a medical kit with things like antihistamene, apririn, cold and flue tablets, panadol, asthma sprays, stop poo tablets (imodium), vitamins and the like, may people forget these and it is shocking to get sick in the bush and not have some relief on hand. This is especially important if you have kids and need kiddy panadol and the like.

Kit_e_kat9 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 31, 2012, 04:17:07 PM »

A VERY comfortable chair.
A can opener. Nothing worse than the older style can and no opener.
Think DUAL PURPOSE ... if it can be used for something else as well as the original intention, then it's valuable in my book.
A raincoat and wet weather gear.
A jumper and other warm gear.
Gum Boots.
Yep, we like the "wet ones" too (we call them baby R's wipes) and they will remove everything from tyre grime to grease marks to smelly fishy fingers (well your fingers stay there but the smell is gone).
A in car dog restraint. "A what?" I hear you ask. These are great (if you have dogs too) for when you need to get in and out of the vehicle alot and you have one of those annoying beeping "OMG you aren't belted in" sounds ... you just plug it in and silence reigns supreme. Visit the RSPCA shops ... they are about $15 (and it's a worthy cause).
Get one of those "shoe" hangers, the one with all the little pouches and a hanger at the top. Great for putting those small items in whilst in camp and in the car ... just don't fold it up with the camper whilst your keys are in it ... can go from car to camper or vice versa. Good for sunnies, keys, note books, etc. And they fold up fairly small.
Visiting the MySwag Camp Oven Cook Book before you go and downloading some great ideas for decent meals on the trip.

There are probably more, but you are running out of room about now so ...

Kit_e

ewwreckers · « **Reply #20 on:** October 31, 2012, 08:49:48 PM »

Thanks everyone, some great tips/ideas!
I think we'll be doing alot of packing, unpacking, turfing, and repacking over the next 8 weeks lol We'll be winging it a bit, but hey, that'll be part of the adventure!
I'm thinking of adding some of these to the list....surely they will come in handy for a girl who hasn't ducked behind a tree in about 10 years lol
http://www.shepee.co.uk/about_shepee.html

booga · « **Reply #21 on:** October 31, 2012, 10:14:25 PM »

Quote from: DannyG on October 31, 2012, 12:32:40 PM

I agree, nothing better than walking around camp with no pants on People rarely setup near me for some reason?

So that was you...... wife had a good laugh, I was ashamed for the male gene

spargo · « **Reply #22 on:** October 31, 2012, 11:37:32 PM »

A good, easily accessible, long-handled shovel.

LucyJ · « **Reply #23 on:** November 01, 2012, 06:22:44 AM »

Quote from: ewwreckers on October 31, 2012, 08:49:48 PM

I'm thinking of adding some of these to the list....surely they will come in handy for a girl who hasn't ducked behind a tree in about 10 years lol
http://www.shepee.co.uk/about_shepee.html

My friend and I found one of these in a camping shop (you know those trips to a camping shop for fun, never any intention of buying anything, just playing with everything). We found a shepee and were laughing till we cried about it. But then realised it might actually be kind of useful. But then you're stuck with something covered in your own wee!

speewa158 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 01, 2012, 06:39:54 AM »

On early trips a note book & pencel to remind yourself of what to bring & fling when you get home . As you will be traveling the coast road there will always be food shopping in most town so you dont have to weigh yourself with 3 weeks of food . Makes it easier on you & benifets the local comunity with the cash flow Though COLD BEER is a MUST HAVE

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Author Topic: Essential equipment (Read 9490 times)

nbd73